Wife of Esau successfully queues, one might say (6,5). As every cruciverbalist worth their salt knows, the answer to this and several other puzzles is ‘Judith Potts’, although extrapolating the how and why from the who is generally more complex than even the most cryptic of crosswords.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that the closing of one case immediately leads into the opening of another for Marlow’s preeminent amateur sleuth. In fact, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts begins just moments after Murder on the Marlow Belle ends, with Judith opening the door to a decidedly unexpected caller.
Eleni Paphides claims to be the daughter of Judith’s late husband, Philippos Demetriou. What’s more, she accuses Judith of murdering her father and claims to have evidence that will convince even the most reticent members of the Marlow constabulary of the famed enigmatologist’s guilt.
Fortunately, before she is crushed under the weight of the distant past, Judith is distracted by a fresh kill. Footballer Gary Wise has been shot dead while taking a moonlit stroll in the woods behind his McMansion, and Detective Inspector Tanika Malik is convinced that Judith will want to help crack the case.
While Judith is surprisingly reticent about the investigation – almost as if she is focused on hiding a major secret from the past – fellow sleuths Suzie Harris and Becks Starling are far more enthusiastic. Can the Marlow Murder Club put personal matters to the side for long enough to determine who is knocking off local celebs?
The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts marks a subtle but significant shift in Robert Thorogood’s cosy mystery series, which has now reached book five and become an established television series. While he has always balanced lightness of tone with procedural rigour, this book deepens the backstory by focusing on the social structures that have historically shaped who is believed, who is ignored and whose suffering is invisible.
The story remains firmly within the cosy tradition – amateur detection, close community, relatively bloodless deaths – but Thorogood uses established conventions to examine ageism, sexism and the long shadow cast by the hushing up of domestic violence, issues that have generally only been hinted at in earlier books.
In keeping with the isolation often associated with domestic violence, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts also features a fracturing of the previously tight relationship between the trio of investigators. While Judith has always led the group’s murder investigations, this time round she largely leaves Suzie and Becks to their own devices.
This freedom from Judith’s oversight gives the pair a welcome chance to shine but also requires them to confront the possibility that their friend is implicated in an older, long-buried wrong. This shift exposes just how thoroughly Judith has been permitted to exist as a local eccentric rather than a fully accountable police advisor.
Within the Buckinghamshire town of Marlow, surprisingly even within the police force, she has been indulged rather than truly seen. The murder accusation levelled by Eleni destabilises this arrangement and forces everyone to consider how appearances can be deceptive: while her cleverness is recognised, Judith’s age means she is assumed to be harmless, at least when it comes to physical violence.
Of course, Judith’s current venerable age means that events surrounding the alleged murder of Philippos happened in the relatively distant past. And while it’s true that the past is a foreign country – they do things differently there – in Judith’s case events transpired in a literal foreign country: Cyprus.
Given the period and cultural differences at play, the question is not simply whether Judith committed a crime but whether anyone at the time would have taken her seriously enough to either accuse her or protect her. And sadly, Eleni’s dealings with the Marlow police suggest that such matters are not really confined to the past.
Suzie’s role further complicates this dynamic. Throughout the series, her history of domestic abuse has been treated with a mixture of sensitivity and restraint, reflected in her brusque manner and guarded emotional life. In this book, the focus on hidden pasts and institutional silence brings Suzie’s experience into sharper focus.
Similarly, the occurrence of multiple murders connected to prominent local figures invites reflection on whose suffering commands attention. Their deaths trigger elaborate police investigations, whereas the harms experienced by those without a public persona largely go unacknowledged.
The role of the police is actually particularly complex this time round. Tanika is the representative of an institution that has evolved but remains constrained by convention. She likes Judith and co and appreciates their contributions, although she is aware of the need to follow the rules if justice is truly to be done.
Her insight as a detective and her skill at playing the official game cannot save her from the machinations of conniving colleagues, however, which prompts another shift in the established deductive dynamic. Just as Suzie and Becks have to manage without Judith’s input, they also have to cope without Tanika’s official assistance.
The incongruously turbulent town of Marlow provides a setting that neatly captures all of these human connections. The town, idyllic on the surface, brims with eccentric residents, secret histories, and the kind of small-town gossip that becomes especially potent when murder strikes.
While death should by now be an accustomed part of life in the town, a celebrity’s demise means shattered expectations, awkward realisations and reputational problems for the bereaved and bewildered alike. But despite this darkened tone, Thorogood does not abandon the pleasures of humour or ingenuity when it comes to a good murder.
For more cases cracked by the Marlow Murder Club, try Death Comes to Marlow.
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CFL Rating: 5 Stars
